


Thunderstruck

by Indehed



Series: Snuggle 'verse [4]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Alternate Universe - High School, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-16
Updated: 2013-06-16
Packaged: 2017-12-15 02:59:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/844532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Indehed/pseuds/Indehed
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Danny has never been fond of Hawaiian weather...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Thunderstruck

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Polski available: [Jak rażony piorunem](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7218646) by [MobyDick](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MobyDick/pseuds/MobyDick)



> I HATE YOU ALL. damnable enablers. I have other things to do... I'll do them tomorrow.  
> Thanks, again, to Paulette for the turnaround. She has other things to do as well, I'm sure...

He didn't really remember the first time. He'd been living in Hawaii since he was three and with Hawaiian weather as it is, there's no way he wouldn't have been around for some fierce storms. He knew he hadn't liked them much when he was very young. His imagination at that age was so active, he was convinced they were scary and his mom tells him fondly that he'd hidden under her bed or the kitchen table thinking those to be the safest places.

He also knows that as he got older, he began to not mind them so much. He doesn't like them, that would be stupid. Getting caught in a torrential downpour is never fun. Being soaked to the skin, feeling the big drops of water fall down his head, over his nose, pounding onto him, he'd always hated that and still did to this day. 

But there was that one time, when he couldn't have been more than five years old, and there was a storm rolling in one day when Doris McGarrett was babysitting. Steve and Danny had been playing out in the back garden, clambering around the outdoor furniture until she'd called them in because the sky had darkened so quickly. 

They'd gone up to Steve's room, which had a big window overlooking the back area and Steve had been fascinated, watching the clouds, seeing the misty look of rain in the distance as it closed in on them. 

Danny had taken to the bed. He didn't want to seem scared. He wanted to be brave, and he wanted to not let Steve see that he was worried, but when that first thunder clap struck and the lightning bolted over the sky, he'd jumped and possibly… _possibly_ let out a squeal. 

He'd expected Steve to make fun of him, but he didn't. He turned worried eyes to Danny, asking what was wrong and for some unknown reason, Danny had easily relented and told Steve he didn't like thunder. In response, Steve had grabbed two pairs of over-sized headphones and plugged them into a small keyboard. They'd played at making really bad music until the storm had passed over enough that the rumbles were quiet enough not to disturb them.

From then on, any time there was a storm, Steve found a way to distract Danny, and he'd always been appreciative of it. Normally, it was through alternate noise, whether that be music or the television or radio, it didn't matter. They were always fine until Doris or Danny's mom came to the room and told them to keep it down. Then they'd giggle, thinking of their own storm noise as a private joke between the two of them, never letting on to anyone else that it had all started because Danny had been scared of something. 

It wasn't just storms that affected how they were together. The Hawaiian sun was bright and ever present. Although they frequently wore sunglasses, it wasn't always practical and besides, sometimes you just forgot to put them in your pocket or on top of your head when you left the house and it was cloudy. 

It was always worse for Danny when they were at the beach as they became teenagers. Since he didn't surf, he always just stayed on a towel, sitting back on the sand and watching Steve and others perfect their craft. If Danny forgot his sunglasses, then he'd use Steve's while he was on the water. It was an elegant solution, but it only lasted until Steve was too tired out and came up to Danny where the other boy was protecting their cooler. Steve would fumble around inside to pull out a bottle of water, downing it while motioning for Danny to hand over his glasses.

The first time their new solution happened they were about twelve or so. Steve had laid out his towel, shaking out sand onto Danny, who shielded his face with his hand but still ended up trying to cough and spit up sand while wiping his eyes. Steve lay down next to him, crossing his legs at the ankles and propping his head on his hands.

Danny just sat there, his arms stretched behind him, looking down at himself, squinting in the brightness. 

"Come 'ere," Steve beckoned and Danny turned confused eyes onto him. 

"What?"

"You've probably been sitting facing the sun like that for too long anyway, you should turn around, it'll make your tan more even and stuff."

"I'm not here to tan, tanning is for girls. I'm here to enjoy the beach. Kind of under duress, of course."

"Duress? Danny?"

"What? I know what it means," Danny pouted. Steve just tried to beckon him closer again and reached a hand to the smaller boy as Danny begrudgingly did as Steve asked. He turned against the sun and lay closer to Steve. Steve then put his now free arm around Danny's shoulders and let him hide his eyes against Steve's shoulder. It was more comfortable than having to hold his own hand and arm up to shield himself from the bright glare, and the relief to his eyes had him sighing in moments. 

Around Christmas time every year, his father would start sending photos from home. He considered New Jersey home even though he hadn't lived there since he was a baby, but he felt like it was his spiritual home. It was where 'his people' were from and he felt an affinity for it. Being with his family, he retained an odd mix of New Jersey in his accent, only marred with a few of the more laid-back sounds of the islands (which he blamed Steve entirely for).

He'd show Steve the photos and sigh forlornly, wishing for once he'd be able to have a New Jersey winter and see some actual snow. To bundle up in a scarf and hat and gloves… to go ice skating, to build a snowman. Anything. Just to feel some cold and then warm up in the central heating of his house and watch the world go by. 

When they were sixteen, somehow, Steve had decided to try to make Danny happier. Christmas wasn't just a bad time for Danny because of the weather, but because it was a time for family, and his father couldn't be there in person. His dad would dress up as Santa and send photos of himself holding presents that would then, hopefully, all arrive in Hawaii in time to be opened on Christmas Day. His dad also promised Danny faithfully that every time he called in December, he'd be wearing the red suit. He'd make rustling noises and make a point of saying he was stroking the white beard while thinking of things. Danny loved it, all the kids did, and Danny promised himself that when he was a dad, he'd dress as Santa for his kids. 

The 25th was fast approaching, and school was letting out for the last time until the new year. The next day, Steve came by Danny's house early with a bag. Danny had been shooed out of the house by his aunt and uncle and told to go have fun and John McGarrett had driven them to the mall, where they had an ice rink attached at one end. It was inside, but it was still ice and was still cold. Steve opened the bag and inside were two scarves, two hats and two pairs of gloves that they could wear on top of their jeans and t-shirts. 

They rented their skates and gingerly began to move around, surrounded by other kids and adults either in a similar situation, or going scarily fast around them. Steve had good co-ordination, but his height and teenage gangliness made his balance awkward. Danny had a lower center of gravity and was able to stay on his feet a lot better, but he stayed by the wall patiently while Steve got the hang of things, and took his hands as they tried to leave the safety of the barrier. Despite some rather painful mishaps, they'd giggled their way around and eventually were able to pick up enough speed to enjoy themselves more than expected. 

They'd only had an hour, but it was enough for Danny to know that Steve had done it to put a smile on his face, and he had. They'd gone upstairs to the food court, still wearing their winter gear, and had ordered hot chocolate from the coffee stand and watched other people attempting to stand up on the ice. They watched others fail just as miserably as they had at first, they'd laughed, they'd winced when there was a bad fall and they reminisced about their time out on the ice as if it had happened years ago. 

They'd gone a couple more times before school went back in January. Steve had promised they'd do it again next winter and Danny had thought that with something like that to look forward to, maybe Christmas time in Hawaii wouldn't be so bad after all. But then Steve's mom had died. Steve had left. Steve was having a real, cold Christmas on the mainland and Danny felt even more hatred for the Hawaiian Christmas than ever before. It was his least favorite time of year to be on the islands.

This first Christmas in Hawaii with Grace was a strange mix of fear and excitement. Steve had remembered so much of their growing up together, more than Danny had realized, and had implemented things back into his life. Danny held that one Christmas up as so important that he was worried as to whether or not Steve knew how much it meant to him. 

He dropped the odd hints at the beginning of December about dressing up as Santa for Grace, getting a new suit for it. He was already sad that he only saw Grace for six hours on Christmas Day and wanted to make the most of it. He also lamented the lack of snow: something he'd become used to since his move back to New Jersey for college and the police academy. He'd told Steve about how it had been a shock to his system, no matter how much he'd always wanted to experience it, but over the years he was now used to it, and being back in Hawaii again… well, it just didn't feel right.

But on the 23rd of December Steve had dragged Danny to the familiar, if now somewhat changed mall and taken him skating. Like riding a bike, they both remembered enough to not make complete fools of themselves and they'd attempted to make skating look good on two thirty-something year old men. It had been a wonderful time, and they'd gone to the food court for hot chocolate after, just like they had at the age of sixteen. 

Danny was smiling and Steve responded to it like a moth to a flame.

As they made there way out of the mall, the skies were dark and gloomy and a rainstorm was threatening. They'd made it to the car before the massive drops of water began falling from the sky but by the time they made it home, it was a huge downpour and the noise of the drops banging on the roof of the car was almost deafening. 

They parked in the drive but made no move to get out and run the 10 feet to the door. Instead, Steve turned to Danny. 

"Radio?" he asked. Danny nodded and Steve turned it on and pushed the volume up to drown out the majority of the rain noises. He moved around in his seat and then turned, looking at the back. With a flick of his head, he motioned for Danny to follow him into the rear seats. Steve spread himself out, trying to make room as Danny followed him back and then half collapsed on him as his foot caught in a cup holder. 

Steve dragged him close and placed his hands loosely over Danny's ears. "Sorry, I don't have any headphones in the car."

Danny simply grinned at Steve, knowing exactly what he was referring to and that private joke about noise in storms that to this day hadn't been explained to anyone. "Maybe you can distract me in other ways."

"Well, I can certainly give it a go," Steve nodded and kissed Danny. 

The thrum of blood rushing through his veins and through his ears was enough for Danny to know that their very adult way of dealing with thunder strikes was a very enjoyable new twist on their secret game.


End file.
